How 3D shopping could bolster Walmart's omnichannel retail efforts

How Walmart is using big data and IoT to boost salesChris Enslin, vice president of digital enterprise solutions at Walmart, talked to TechRepublic about the retail giant's opportunities from IoT devices both for customer analysis and for predictive analytics.

Walmart brought 3D virtual shopping to its website on Wednesday, allowing customers to browse items in a virtual apartment. The products filling the model apartment are all items customers can buy, with the goal of helping customers make decisions by placing prospective purchases in a functional space.

The virtual apartment showcases nearly 70 products, and lets users click on on items for more information, according to a Walmart press release.

Another feature coming to Walmart's online shopping experience in July, called Buy the Room, will build on this idea, allowing customers to place a group if items in their online cart to purchase a complete look, the release noted. Walmart will initially cater the effort to college students by featuring five curated collections with 20 of the most popular items college student search for and purchase.

With the decline of brick and mortar stores, businesses must keep up with digital natives to stay alive. Walmart's ever-evolving digital retail platform not only keeps them relevant, but successful, acting as a model for struggling retailers.

The big takeaways for tech leaders:

Walmart introduced 3D virtual shopping on Wednesday, which allows users to see products in a model apartment space.

The 3D virtual shopping adds to the long list of Walmart's digital transformation efforts, along with the Buy the Room project, expected to launch in July.

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